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Chocolate Covered Strawberry Pie

A chocolate strawberry pie drizzled with melted chocolate.

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5 from 1 review

A simple yet stunning dessert, this Chocolate Covered Strawberry Pie features a chocolate crust, two layers of strawberries with a deluge of rich chocolate ganache to finish it off.

Ingredients

For Chocolate Pastry

  • 1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour 
  • 1/2 cup (56 grams) powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup (28 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • Pinch coarse kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, cold
  • 1 large egg

For Filling

  • ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 quarts fresh strawberries, cleaned, hulled, cut in half, and dried well, divided
  • ⅓ cup (75 grams) heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup (90 g) chopped chocolate or high-quality chocolate chips
  • ⅛ teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Instructions

Prepare the Pastry:

  1. Add the flour, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt to the bowl of a food processor.
  2. Pulse until combined.
  3. Add in the butter and pulse 7 times.
  4. With the motor running, add in the egg and let process until a dough forms together into a cohesive ball.
  5. Scrape the dough from the bowl onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form the dough into a disk and wrap tightly.
  6. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out until it stretches to the edges of the plastic wrap to ensure a tight seal.
  7. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.
  8. When ready to use, preheat the oven to 375ºF and place an oven rack in the lower part of the oven.
  9. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to an 11-inch circle and place it in a 9-inch tart pan, making sure to push the pastry into the edges of the pan. Trim off any excess dough. Place the tart shell in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.
  10. Once chilled, line the tart shell with a round piece of parchment paper, then add pie weights (I recommend dry rice or beans or lentils), making sure to push the pie weights to the edges.
  11. Bake on the lower rack for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and carefully remove the parchment and pie weights. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until the pastry is fully cooked through. Set aside to cool completely until ready to use. This can be done up to one day ahead of time.

Make the Filling and Assemble:

  1. In a medium pot, combine the granulated sugar, lemon juice and half of the prepared strawberries. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the strawberries have reduced by half and thickened, 8 to 10 minutes, mashing the berries with a potato masher or a fork halfway through cooking. Transfer to a container and let cool.
  2. In a small pot, heat the cream over medium-low heat until it’s bubbling around the edges. Add in the chocolate and salt and stir together until the chocolate starts to melt. Shut off the heat and continue to stir until the chocolate is fully melted and the ganache is glossy. It will be very thick. Set aside until ready to use.
  3. When ready to assemble the tart, spread the cooked strawberries onto the bottom of the fully baked and cooled chocolate tart shell. Arrange the remaining strawberries, cut sides down, on top of the cooked strawberries. Generously drizzle chocolate ganache on top of the strawberries. The pie can be served immediately, or it can chill in the refrigerator before serving. It should be served the same day it is made.

Notes

An Oreo pie crust is an easy alternative to the chocolate pie pastry.

I often use frozen strawberries to make the filling, just to save on prep and cost (and frozen berries are usually pretty good quality), and then use the best fresh strawberries I can find to place on top.

Let the strawberries drain and dry on a clean kitchen towel before using. Ideally, the uncut side of the strawberry should be dry so that the chocolate can adhere to it.

If your chocolate ganache has cooled too much during the assembly process before you get a chance to drizzle it, briefly heat it back up over low heat while constantly stirring. It shouldn’t be very hot, but it should be easy to drizzle onto the strawberries.

If you wanted to skip the step of making the strawberry reduction, you can replace it with 1 cup of a high-quality strawberry preserve.

There may be some chocolate ganache remaining after garnishing the top of the tart. You can store it for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.